The National Health Insurance Bureau (中央健保局) said yesterday that it would begin replacing health insurance identification cards made of paper with integrated circuit (IC) cards next year.
The bureau says the new cards will be more convenient and save the government money.
Health officials briefed President Chen Shui-bian (
According to the bureau, the trial replacement of the cards would
begin next July in Taipei, Penghu, Taichung and Kaohsiung. The scheme is expected to be fully implemented nationwide in May of 2003.
The new cards will digitally integrate medical certificates that authorize patients with disabilities or serious illness for a higher level of coverage. They will also permit easier access to medical records, but how this will be done and the privacy issues involved have yet to be hashed out.
Moreover, users will no longer have to replace their cards after making six visits to the hospital or clinic. Currently, those people enrolled in the National Health Insurance Plan have to replace their cards because the cards run out of stamp space after six visits.
The bureau estimated that by adopting IC cards and eliminating the frequent replacement of paper cards, it could save the bureau NT$40 billion over five years.
Chen gave a brief speech at the association meeting urging medical professionals to help the government ensure the continuous operation of the National Health Insurance Plan by efficiently managing medical resources and educating their patients about the proper reasons for seeking medical attention.
The Department of Health began to reform the health insurance plan last year and set up a special taskforce for that purpose in July, said Minister of Health Lee Ming-liang (
"The first thing the team is responsible for is exploring the public consensus on whether the National Health Insurance Plan is to make available social insurance or to create a social security mechanism," said Lee.
Lee was highlighting the public's belief that the National Health Insurance Plan is unlimited.
"If the consensus advocates that the plan is simply for insurance, the public must then be educated to realize that the benefit of insurance coverage is limited. Otherwise they will have to pay higher taxes to make the plan part of Taiwan's social security network," the minister said.
"Many people incorrectly regard the National Health Insurance Plan as a social security mechanism, wanting the insurance to cover every medical service but rejecting the upward adjustment of premiums," Lee said.
The health insurance premium has stood at 4.25 percent of monthly salarie since the government began to collect it in 1995.
"But the insurance is actually designed to provide essential health care rather than health care for everything and everyone."
The insurance plan has suffered a monthly deficit of NT$2 billion, on average.
People visited outpatient clinics an average of 14.6 times in 1999, which was higher than many other developed countries.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS